China’s ties with North Korea show growing signs of strain

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un with China's vice president Li Yuanchao at the 60th anniversary of the Korean war armistice (photo:dpa)

North Korea’s nuclear ambitions are putting pressure on its relationship with China, which criticised its neighbour after the latest nuclear weapons test by Pyongyang in February 2013. Many Chinese people are also becoming disillusioned with North Korea where so many of its citizens were killed during the 1950-1953 Korean War.

<i>China has been North Korea’s closest ally and backer since the 1950-1953 Korean War. There have been disagreements between the two countries before, but since Kim Jong-un came to power in North Korea in 2011, tensions have grown, , particularly over the nuclear weapons test carried out by North Korea in 2013. But it is not just the leadership in Bei...

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